CDC Updates Monkeypox Guidance After First Suspected Case of Human-to-Dog Transmission

On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that its monkeypox guidance had been updated after the first suspected case of human-to-dog transmission, per CBS News,

Scientists revealed in a The Lancet-published paper there has been evidence that dogs and possibly other animals can contract the virus from humans. The case was documented by the dog’s owners in France, who are two male partners who are in a non-monogamous relationship. They started showing signs of monkeypox after they had slept with other partners, and their four-year-old Italian greyhound later developed lesions and tested positive for the virus.

The men said that they slept beside their dog, although they had since begun limiting the dog’s contact with other people or pets after the animal began to show symptoms. “To the best of our knowledge, the kinetics of symptom onset in both patients and, subsequently, in their dog suggest human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox virus,” the researchers explained. “Our findings should prompt debate on the need to isolate pets from monkeypox virus-positive individuals.”

As a result of the case, researchers are hoping to pursue further investigation into human-to-animal transmission of the virus.

The paper has prompted the CDC to recommend people avoid close contact with animals, especially pets that have potentially been exposed to the virus. Any pets that are under care by individuals who do show signs of monkeypox, however, should be cared for by friends or family in a separate home until the owners fully recover if they haven’t already been exposed.